Spookia
by The.Dragon.Singer
Summary: Mae Gould had no idea she was a mutant, at least, not until an embarrassing incident at the mall...where she ended up invisible. After moving from England to the Institute, Mae discovers that invisibility is only part of her power.
1. Chapter 1

Mae Gould dreaded getting up from her cocoon of warm blankets and facing another day at her private school. The fifteen year old pulled her quilt up to her ears and stretched one of her hands out to press the snooze button of her alarm before retreating back to the warmth.

Rain hammered against her window, beating an irregular staccato that was both soothing and really really annoying.

With an annoyed grumble, Mae threw her covers back and tumbled from the bed, stumbling several steps before she managed to not fall on her face. Immediately, her feet headed for the bathroom across from her bedroom for a quick morning shower.

Ten minutes later, wrapped in a pale blue, incredibly fluffy towel, Mae returned to her cold room. The teenager clutched the towel to her chest and avoided looking in the mirror as she mindlessly pulled out a pair of mint-colored panties covered in polar bears and a plain white bra.

After pulling both undergarments on, Mae reached for the uniform she'd carefully ironed before she went to bed.

She watched herself as she dressed, watching as her body was covered first by the white button up, then the beige skirt, then the dark grey and blue-edged blazer. She watched her face as she knotted her tie at her throat, and then scowled, wrapping her arms around her pudgy torso and turning away from the mirror to get her brush.

Her long, dark brown, hair was twisted quickly into two braids, secured with two black elastics, and then she was dressed for school, except for her socks and shoes, which were in the kitchen-dining room.

Mae sighed as she turned off her light and trudged into the small apartment she and her mother lived in. The two-bedroom apartment was still painted the boring cream it had been when Cassarah Emerson-Gould had bought it four years ago.

Judging by the lack of noise and lack of her mother's coat and shoes, Mae's mother had already left for work. It wasn't surprising, considering her mother worked an hour away and had long shifts. Mae rarely saw her mother anymore.

There was, however, a dirty coffee mug beside the sink and a half eaten piece of peanut-butter toast beside it. Sighing, the teenager cleaned up her mother's mess and made herself a bowl of cereal. After cleaning up her own mess, Mae pulled on her socks and shoes, picked up her pre-packed bag and headed for the door, flicking off the lights as she went.

She actually remembered an umbrella too.

The fifteen year old locked the apartment, rushed down the stairs and barely managed to open the umbrella before she stepped into the downpour. Balancing the umbrella pole between her shoulder and her neck, Mae fished her iPod from her bag with one hand and set the music on shuffle for her twenty minute walk to Haxwell Private School.

Mae arrived at school very damp, but on time, which wasn't surprising, considering she lived in England. Other students – both wet and dry – milled around the front foyer, by their lockers, and in the cliques they were part of.

Mae headed for her locker, gathered her books, and headed for her first class, English. The bell rang just as she sat herself in her seat.

* * *

So far, Mae had avoided Claire, Arlene, and Robyn. She didn't see them often anymore, but made a point to avoid the Hags-from-Hell at all costs. It was better for both of them.

"Hi, Gould." Mae jumped, turning her pale blue eyes to her locker neighbour before grinning at the boy. He smiled back, straightening his tie in the mirror he'd put in his locker.

"Hello, Simmons." She replied, smoothing her knee-length skirt as she shut her locker. "How are you?"

"I'm wonderful!" He cooed, clapping his hands together, practically bouncing. "I went shopping yesterday and found the most _darling_ pair of shoes you've _ever_ seen! And what's _better_ than _finding_ darling shoes is _buying_ said darling shoes on _sale_ seventy-percent off!"

"That's great!" Mae nodded. Antione Simmons was probably the only person she talked with.

He was absolutely the nicest person she had ever met, and he was very gay. He was amazingly confident, adored shopping, and was incredibly friendly. He also considered all the people he talked to a friend….and he was perhaps her only – and greatest – friend. They had Biology together, as well as Physical Education.

"I'm going shopping again this weekend, Gould," He mused. "You should totally come with me. We could go for tea and cake afterwards. It'll be so much fun~!"

"You want to….hang out with…_me_?" Mae stared up at him, slightly confused. Simmons was nearly six feet tall, and he towered over her own five-foot four and half.

Simmons seemed surprised, and then promptly dropped his hands onto his hips and fixed her with a look she couldn't quite understand. "Of course! You're my friend and I like you! It's decided then, I'm _absolutely_ taking you shopping."

"O-okay." Mae nodded, clutching the handle of her bag. Simmons turned to leave and one of Mae's hands darted out, grabbing the sleeve of his uniform. Simmons turned his warm hazel eyes to her. "You…don't have my number."

"Silly me!" He cried, spinning elegantly to face her again. Mae pulled out her cell-phone, blushing slightly at the Pikachu hanging off it, and she turned the contacts towards her friend. Simmons dropped his phone into her hands and when they'd finished exchanging information, switched the phones back.

He waved good-bye and practically skipped down the hall, vanishing in the lunch crowd moments later. Mae was left alone at her locker, holding her phone in one hand, staring down the hall, wondering what the hell had actually just happened.

A grin spread across her face, and she tucked her phone back into her bag. She would have to check with her mother if she could go, but Cassarah wouldn't have a problem with it. Mae rarely left the house, let alone to go hang out with actual people.

"Have you been avoiding us, Mae?" Someone cooed – a sickly sweet coo that made her shiver – from behind her. Mae's entire body slumped and her smile vanished as she turned to face the Hags-from-Hell.

Claire McGuire, Arlene Chang, and Robyn Whitaker were the richest three girls at the school, and, according to a lot of people, were pretty much perfect. All three were gorgeous, decently smart, and athletic.

Mae completely hated all three of them.

"Well?" Claire sneered, tossing her long auburn hair over her shoulder. "Have you?"

"No." Mae replied, all the while thinking loudly '_YES_'.

"I didn't think so." Claire smiled again, crossing her arms under her breasts. Mae self-consciously wrapped her arms around her stomach, staring at the floor.

Claire was the leader of the Hags; sporting natural auburn hair, grey eyes, full lips, and a perfect tan. She was part of the cheer squad, and had tormented Mae since she'd come to Haxwell. She wore her skirt too high and never buttoned her uniform shirt up all the way.

"How's our _favorite _fatty today?" Robyn asked, looking away from her brand-new cell phone and popping her gum through her pink-painted lips. "Have you had your daily lard-cake? Are we keeping you from eating?"

"Robyn," Arlene murmured, holding her books closer. "Don't come on too strong. The virgin blob may think you're hitting on her."

Mae bit her lip, taking a step backwards as if to physically get away from the girls' harsh words.

Robyn and Arlene were Claire's best friends. Robyn was platinum blond, with green-blue eyes, full lips, creamy skin, enormous boobs, and a waist that told most people she'd gotten a boob job. If Claire wore her skirt too high, Robyn wore it as a belt. She wore her shirt unbuttoned far too low, and never wore her tie. She was the oldest of the three, in Year Twelve, at eighteen.

Arlene was Japanese-British, with beautiful blue eyes and almost-black hair cut into a stylish bob. Her skin was naturally dark-tan, her figure hourglass. She wore her uniform the most accurately of the three, with her skirt just a little too short, and her shirt buttoned properly. Arlene was the best swimmer on Haxwell's team. She was in Year Eleven, with Claire and Mae.

"No, no," Claire giggled, daintily covering her mouth with her perfectly manicured hand. "The bookworm obviously isn't a virgin! Look how she's holding her stomach! She's up the spout!"

All three of the girls tittered, and then Claire grinned. "So who did you shag? Pizza-Face McPhee? Knockers Nick? Simmons?"

"It had to have been Simmons!" Robyn snorted, flicking her blond hair and laughing with her green-blue eyes. "Both of them probably turned to each other for a pity shag. Simmons wanted to try out a quim, shoot his load into a woman, and screw her over. Did he shag you up the ass? Did you like it?"

Mae didn't say anything, closing her blue eyes so she couldn't see them.

"Is it kicking yet?" Claire lunged forward, slapping her hand against Mae's chubby stomach. The bell chimed, but was ignored. "Maybe it _is_ just fat, girls. Doesn't feel like she's got an itty-bitty monster in there. Just some doughnuts."

"And an extra tire." Arlene added, glancing down the hall. Students were flooding the halls. "Let's go. Our next class is across campus."

Mae listened as the Hags-from-Hell clicked themselves away on black pumps, and then she slumped against her locker, listening to the students chattering past her spot. The brunette slid down the floor and pulled her knees to her chest, carefully tucking her skirt up so nobody could see her underwear.

Simmons' familiar bouncing tread stood out from the crowd and it grew louder before it stopped beside her.

"I forgot my textbook." He announced to her, and quieted. "Are you alright?"

"Headache…" She croaked, pushing herself up again.

"Do you want me to take you to the nurse's office?" He asked, concern coloring his voice. Mae shook her head.

"It'll go away." She replied, staring at the floor.

"If you're sure."

* * *

Mae didn't see the Hags-from-Hell for the rest of the day, or the next two days of the school week. She was grateful for this, but on her toes.

Antoine Simmons had started hanging around her more, which was nice. He chattered almost nonstop about cool things he'd seen or how hard his classes were. He partnered with her in their gym class, and in Biology he switched seats with the rugby girl who never did her work and yelled across the classroom.

They'd been texting back and forth since they'd exchanged numbers, but…..Mae kept forgetting to ask her mother if she could go with him that weekend.

It didn't help that she didn't see her mother much.

Luckily for Mae, Cassarah had Saturday off.

Mae's mother was a pretty woman, with skin that was pale from not being in the sun all day, wavy and greying blond hair, hazel eyes and a tall, willowy stature. She was almost the complete opposite of her daughter.

Mae shuffled up to her mother about three hours before Antoine, twisting her fingers in the sleeves of one of her many large sweaters.

"Hello." She muttered as her mother's television programme flipped to commercial.

Cassarah turned her face and gave a tired smile to the teenager. "Hullo, love. How are you doing?"

"I'm fine." Mae worried her bottom lip, watching the dish soap commercial.

"How are your grades?"

"I got a ninety seven on my last Calculus test." Mae replied. "Mum, can I hang out with a friend at the mall?"

"A friend? What's her name?" Cassarah perked up, leaning forward and shifting her entire body to face her daughter.

"His name is-"

"No." Cassarah's face hardened, and she narrowed her eyes.

"-Antoine Simmons, and he's the most wonderful _gay_ person I have ever met." Mae finished, avoiding looking at her mother, and crossing her fingers in her sleeves.

"He's gay?" The mother-daughter pair were both silent for several minutes. "Alright. I'll give you a hundred pounds. Bring me my purse?"

Mae grinned, spinning on her heel and darting for the kitchen, where her mother left her purse.

* * *

Antoine "Tony" Simmons pulled his father's van up to Mae's apartment building and was reaching for his phone to send her a text when she burst from the door and almost skipped towards him.

Tony cooed internally at her outfit; an overly large blue sweater, a pair of grey jeans, worn yellow high-top converse, and a beige infinity scarf. Across her body, she'd slung a brown leather purse. Her pretty hair was pulled into two low and loose pigtails.

Tony reached across the car and pushed open the door for her. Mae slid in and smiled at him.

"Hi," She said, breathless.

"You're so adorable!" He cooed in response. Mae flushed pink. "Aw, honey, it's totally true. Now, I hope you don't mind, but I simply cannot go shopping without singing along to my Shopping Playlist. It may be a little goofy and super nerdy, but I can always turn it off if you want."

Mae shook her head. "No, no. It's fine."

Tony grinned, pushing the play button on the CD controls and fiddled with the volume knob. Almost immediately as he turned it up, Disney filled the van and Mae turned to her friend in surprise. Tony carefully merged into traffic and started loudly singing along.

Mae giggled as she watched him, humming along with '_Prince Ali'_. After about seven songs, Tony seemed to realize that she had been humming along with the songs, and he prodded her with one of his long tanned fingers.

"Sing with meeeeee~!" He whined, dancing – wiggling – in his seat. Mae batted his hand away and snag quietly under her breath. Satisfied, Tony cranked the volume.

By the time the pair arrived at the mall, Mae had relaxed and was belting along with her friend, the music so loud that neither could hear the other actually singing. Along with Disney, Antoine had several anime openings and endings, along with some classic rock, and several American pops songs.

Mae giggled as they climbed out of the van, racing the tall male to the automatic doors. She was laughing and completely out of breath by the time they skidded into the mall entrance, but very very happy for the first time in a long time.

Tony grabbed her hand and dragged her to a shoe store, and then to a dress shop, where they both tried on long elegant dresses. Tony rocked them and as he was paying for a knee-length purple and black-spotted dress, he admitted he liked to dress like a woman sometimes.

Mae stared at him a moment and then replied, "I think a leather jacket would look good with that dress, you know."

Tony grinned, and then dragged her off to another store.

By the time they settled in for lunch in the food court, Mae had spent half of her hundred pounds and Tony had gathered far too many bags of clothes. He'd actually convinced her to go into a La Senza and spent over an hour making her try on – and eventually buy – some really nice underwear and bras.

Of course, in Mae's life, all good things had to come to an end.

"Look, it's the virgin blob and Nancy Boy out on a date." Claire's voice cooed from across the food court, followed by giggles. Mae's hand, in the middle of lifting her sandwich to her mouth, drooped and she slouched in her seat.

"Mae-Mae?" Tony leaned forward. "Just ignore them, honey."

"Don't be shy!" Robyn cackled, stomping forward in ridiculously tall heels to snatch up some of Mae's bags. "Look, ladies! She went to La Senza! I didn't know they made maternity apparel."

"I thought she was just fat, Robyn?" Arlene rolled her eyes, and snatched one of the bags away. Her long fingers dipped inside the bag and drew out one of the lacier bras Tony had convinced Mae to buy. "Look at this!"

"Lace?" Claire sneered, snatching up another bag and yanking out a flattering size sixteen black dress. "She must be attempting to get some-"

"Guys don't go for her….build." Robyn snorted. "Or maybe she's hoping to get some of the nancy boy later. She must be feeling fruity!"

Mae's eyes slid shut, and she bit her lip. It was bad enough that she was picked on…but she never wanted to bring Tony into it.

"Hon," Tony's voice interrupted the Hags-from-Hell. "Let me tell you something. I am not going to put it nicely and I am certainly not trying to be your bloody friend – you're a bint. And not only are you a bint, but you've got to be one of the worst cases I have _ever _seen in my life. Are you aware of how many transmitted sexual diseases there are out there? And thanks to your stupidity, guess how many you could have possibly managed to contract~? I say you get your scrawny arse to the nearest doctor and get yourself check out."

Robyn's mouth opened and closed several times before her normally pretty face twisted into a grotesque sneer and she turned back to Mae, who had sunk her short frame into her seat.

"You should learn from your mother's mistake, Gould," Robyn growled at Mae, who shrank further into her seat. "Get yourself sterilized. And while you're at it, find a plastic surgeon. You could use a little work….everywhere."

"Robyn, stop bullying the fatty," Arlene snickered. "She's got enough on her plate."

"She's certainly got enough in her stomach." Claire rolled her eyes. "Her pants must be size Bitch-Lose-Some-Weight."

"The only thing that goes erect when guys are near you," Tony growled. "Is their middle finger."

"It's more action then either of you get." Robyn snapped. "Isn't that right, Gould? You and your lacy bras won't ever see the light of day. And your fat ass is never going-"

Mae hummed Disney in her head, blocking out the sounds of Robyn's growing shrieks. Tony's furious gaze flickered between the three Hags-from-Hell and he was bristling like an angry cat. Mae just wanted to vanish.

* * *

Cassarah dragged her body from the couch to the phone, and grumbled, picking it up with a cheerful, "Hullo?"

"_Mrs. Gould? My name is Antoine Simmons. I'm Mae's friend_." The voice on the other end spoke, and automatically Cassarah straightened, something clawing at her stomach.

"What's wrong?"

"_Mae….I think you need to come get her. She's very distraught right now, and I won't be able to drive because she won't let go_."

"What happened? Is she hurt?"

"_She's not hurt, Mrs. Gould_. _I think she's in shock. The faster you get here, the faster I can explain. It's not something we should talk about over the phone._"

"I'll be there in twenty minutes." Cassarah pressed the off button and hurried for her shoes.

She and Mae had a strained relationship, what with her being at work all the time. But no matter what, Mae was her daughter, and she was a mother. And her baby girl was in trouble.

* * *

**AN: 100 British pounds is about 181.79 Canadian dollars/ 167.64 US dollars**

**Up the spout: pregnant, knocked up**

**Shag: have sex**

**Quim: female genitalia**

**Nancy-Boy: gay, insult**

**Fruity: frisky**

**Bloody: damn**

**Bint: whore, slut**


	2. Chapter 2

Mae sat on the couch in the living room, pale-faced and her entire body shaking like a leaf. Tony had gone home hours ago and according to the clock of the DVD player by the telly, it was going on three-fourteen in the morning.

Far too early to be up, but Mae had never gone to sleep in the first place. The mug of hot chocolate her mother had given her was untouched on the coffee table, full of soggy marshmallows and cold liquid. Mae hadn't moved since Cassarah had picked both her and Tony up from the mall and driven them back to her apartment.

The fifteen year old narrowed her blue eyes slightly, and the hands sitting in front of her flickered. Eventually, Mae's hands went almost entirely invisible, and she could see the coffee table and the floor through them.

Her hands faded back into her skin, and Mae shuddered.

Mutant. She was a mutant.

Her father, long dead, had carried the X-gene, and she was a mutant.

Strands of dark brown hair fell into her eyes and Mae simply stared at her still shaking hands.

Mae didn't even jump when her mother's squeaky door opened and she padded into the room wearing a fluffy purple housecoat.

"Mae, love," Cassarah, clutching at the lapels of her housecoat, "You should head to bed. We can have a good talk about….all this, when we've had a good rest."

Mae's eyes lifted from her hands and she stared at her mother. Cassarah shifted nervously, until Mae slowly nodded and stiffly rose from the couch. The blond woman followed her daughter to her bedroom, watched as she got into bed, rolled to face the wall, and then Cassarah reached forward.

She pulled the blankets up to Mae's ears, pressed a hand to the teenager's shoulder and hurried out the door back to the general safety of her own bed.

Mae lay staring at the wall for a long time, mind drifting in a million places, with a millions different thoughts, but her mind also drifted nowhere at the same time. Eventually, Mae's blue eyes slid shut, and she didn't open them again that night.

* * *

It was late in the afternoon when Mae and her mother sat themselves awkwardly in the living room. The silence was palpable, and neither wanted to break it.

"What…" Mae's voice rasped. She cleared her throat. "What do I do now?"

Cassarah was quiet, staring hard at a picture of them by the phone. "Go on like everything is normal, I suppose. You'll go back to school, and pretend nothing happened."

"But something did."

"We can just pretend nothing did though. Everything will be normal. You can be _normal_." Cassarah placed her hand on her daughter's, but it was jerked from her grasp as Mae pressed herself into the arm of the couch, as though trying to physically get away from her remaining parent.

"Nothing is going to be normal again! _I'm_ never going to normal! I can go bloody _invisible_! That's _not_ normal! And I can't go back to school! People _saw_ what I did!" Mae exclaimed.

Cassarah frowned. "Watch your language, young lady."

"I won't." Mae scowled. "I have bigger things to worry about than if I'm swearing in front of my mother, you know!"

Cassarah's eyes narrowed into slits, her hazel eyes glittering like ice. "Mae Kassandra Gould, do not speak to me like that. You may be different, mutant now, but you are still my daughter and I can still send you to your room."

"I was always a mutant!" Mae cried, lurching to her feet. "My power has only just shown up! The least you could do is try and support me!"

Cassarah rose to her feet, towering over her frustrated child. "I have done nothing _but_ support you your entire _existence_."

"Real great job supporting your kid when you're _never_ _HOME_!"

"I work hard to put money in the bank and food on the table. I pay expensive tuition so you can go to a wonderful school-"

"I would have been fine with a public school when we moved! And the school isn't that wonderful when I'm bloody terrified of walking down the halls!" Mae slapped her hands over her mouth.

Cassarah gave her daughter a weird look. "Why are you terrified to walk down the halls at school, Mae?"

She knew there was no point creating more drama, so Mae scowled and replied, "Because of the Hags-from-Hell."

Cassarah put two-and-two together easily. "You're being bullied? Why didn't you tell me!?"

"In case you hadn't noticed," Mae snorted, turning on her heel and heading towards her room. "I never see you. Puts a bit of a damper on the whole conversation thing."

Cassarah's hazel eyes widened as she watched her daughter flicker semi-transparent in her anger, before Mae slammed her door shut. Twenty seconds later, something crashed into the door, and Cassarah flinched.

"What am I going to do?" The blond woman murmured, running her fingers through her hair. "My daughter is a mutant."

* * *

For the next week, Mae did not emerge from her room and if she did, it was either very late at night or she had gained some degree of control over her…ability, and came out invisible.

Cassarah, during this week, worked from home on the beginning of a project and rarely left her own room, save for large amounts of coffee and occasional meals, all of which she ate alone. Of course, she did eventually have to go back to work, and after calling her daughter in sick for the sixth time, on the second Monday after the Incident, Cassarah left for work.

Mae ventured out of her room around lunch-time, pale, puffy-eyed, and pouting. Immediately, the teen noticed the lack of her mother and her pout dropped into a narrow-eyed stare at the door. Her phone, sitting in the back pocket of her pajamas, buzzed.

The brunette had been texting Tony all week, crying and ranting about her mother. He was incredibly patient with her, and for that Mae was thankful.

After eating breakfast and cleaning up after herself, Mae wandered back towards her room. Her blue eyes trailed past her own door to her mother's, and she was surprised to see it open. Cautiously slinking forward, Mae poked her head into her mother's room.

It was painted a pale cream, with brown and green accents. A desk sat on the left, a bed on the right. The bed had been made with crisp angles and its gold-and-cream bedspread was perfectly placed.

The desk on the other hand – an old, heavy, oak thing Cassarah had inherited from her grandmother – was a disaster zone. Papers were strewn in balls around its base, the wastepaper basket was overflowing, and loose-leaf paper littered the top. Mae tiptoed forward.

She regretted it the second she peered down at her mother's work.

In bold cursive handwriting across several sheets of paper were words like **mutant, mutation, X-gene, father-recessive, tests, blood. **Most horrifying of all of the words that stood out was **CURE. **

It was everywhere; among formulae Mae didn't understand, scrawled across corners, written in diagrams of double-helixes, on sticky notes with chicken-scratched side-notes. _Everywhere_.

Mae stared at the papers, her hands shuffling them into a neat pile on the desk, shock sprinting through her veins.

Betrayal hit the teenager hard and fast, and rage flared like fire in her stomach. She flickered repetitively, sometimes staying invisible for several seconds before she flared back into view.

Mae dropped the pile in her hands and stormed out of Cassarah's room, slamming the door shut behind her and pacing to the kitchen, to the living room and back again, all the while her powers going haywire.

* * *

Charles Xavier was completely calm despite the beeping of the Cerebro-Alert in the Blackbird. Storm, who sat beside him, was only slightly less calm, as her natural maternal instincts were showing.

Worry was sketched across her face quite clearly, and the Cerebro-Alert beeped again, as it had been doing since the pair of them had gotten into the Blackbird. Already, Charles could see the coast line of Great Britain looming in the front window, and a soft smile flickered across his face.

"Our little mutant seems to be quiet distressed." Storm spoke, pressing several buttons on the dash.

"Indeed she does, Ororo." Charles nodded. The pair were quiet as the scenery zipped past, and Charles engaged the autopilot as they landed. A sleek looking Rolls Royce was waiting on the tarmac of a private airport just outside of London, with a driver standing calmly at the passenger side doors.

* * *

Mae was still nervously pacing back and forth when somebody knocked on the door.

Her first thoughts were '_Bloody hell, it's mum! She knows I've been in her room!_', until logic won over and she realized her mother wouldn't be home until very late that night nor would she knock. Curiosity looming, Mae padded over to the door and stood on her toes to peer through the peephole.

Frowning slightly, Mae observed the woman outside her door. Tall and dark-skinned, with a flowing mane of silvery hair and striking makeup, paired with a white t-shirt, a purple scarf that held back her hair, and a purple wrap around skirt, the woman didn't look intimidating nor malicious.

Carefully, Mae settled herself onto her feet again and unlocked the door, opening it a crack to peer at the woman. She gave a slight jump at the appearance of a bald, well-dressed, man seated in a wheelchair in front of the woman, and felt herself flicker.

"Hullo." She muttered, eyeing them carefully through the large crack in the door.

"Hello, my dear. Is this is Gould residence?" The man spoke, smiling gently. He was obviously brought up in a well-to-do family, because he sounded very much like some of the richer students in Haxwell.

"Yeah." Mae replied, internally scolding herself for being rude, though she didn't open the door any wider.

"Excellent. My name is Professor Xavier, and this is Ororo, one of the teachers at my school for gifted children. May we come in?"

Mae stared at them a moment and then nodded slowly, opening the door to its widest and stepping out of the way. Professor Xavier rolled into the apartment and then into the living room, carefully maneuvering himself around the furniture. Ororo followed after him and seated herself on the couch. Mae stood awkwardly with the door open for several seconds, and then shut it and shuffled over to the free seat, curling her knees to her chest.

"Are you Mae?" Ororo asked, as though she were aware of Mae's skittish state. She nodded.

"How are you today, Mae?" The professor asked, leaning forward in his chair and steepling his fingers. She shrugged in response, averting her eyes. "I see."

After several minutes of silence, Mae spoke. "Would you like something to drink? I think we have milk and tea and water. Maybe some juice."

"Tea please." The professor nodded, while Ororo asked simply for some water.

Once everyone had settled themselves again, Mae broke the silence. "I'm sorry, but, may I ask why you're here?"

"An excellent question, Mae." The professor set his cup on the side table, and fixed his chocolate gaze on her. "I run a school for gifted young people, like yourself. And at the moment, I'm aware you are going through some trying times. I'd like to extend to you an….international exchange, I suppose."

"What do you mean?" She muttered, tugging at the bottom of her sleeve.

"I'd like you to come to America, so that I can help you."

"Help me? I don't need help. I'm perfectly fine." She protested, flickering in and out of sight.

"Mae," Ororo said calmly. "We know what's going on. These are trying times for the best of us, but with the sudden appearances of such gifts as yours, sometimes having the support of someone who knows what you are going through makes things a little bit easier."

"What…?" Mae looked back and forth between the professor and the white haired woman.

"We know about your mutant powers, Mae," The professor smiled. '_You are not quite as alone as you think you are._'

"You, you spoke in my head." She gasped, gaping at the bald man. He nodded. "Are you a mutant too?"

Both Ororo and the professor smiled, nodding and Mae fell back into the cushions of her seat with loose limbs. With her brain working a mile-per-minute, the young British girl flickered in and out of view, though it was obvious she didn't realize.

Charles observed her quietly, patient as always. He was keenly focused on her mutation; her vanishing acts not leaving her completely invisible, but rather very transparent.

"I….." Mae bit her lip. "I think I'd probably like to go, but…my mother… She'd have to give her permission and she won't be home until late tonight."

"That's excellent, Mae." Ororo smiled. "We have a wonder facility."

"What's it like?"

"We live in Bayville, New York." The white haired woman said. "Our home is the Xavier family mansion, where you would stay, and we send our students to Bayville High."

"How many of you are there?" Mae asked, reaching for her lukewarm cup of tea.

"There's Ororo and I, along with Logan. Scott, Jean, Kurt, Kitty, Evan, and Rogue are students there. However, we're expecting a large number of students to arrive near the end of the school year."

"I see." Mae murmured.

"The mansion sits on top of a bluff, so there's some nice views of the ocean. We also live just a couple hours' drive from New York City."

"It sounds nice there."

Professor Xavier gave Maw a long searching looking and then leaned back in his chair. "Mae, would you tell us about your mother?"

With a confused look, the young mutant nodded. "She works at a research facility a couple hours north of here. I think she works on vaccinations or something. I don't really know. She's rarely ever home, and she was really….withdrawn, I guess, when she was. She was nice, but I would….I would have liked to have her around more."

"There's something else, isn't there?" Ororo asked, giving the poor girl a sympathetic look. Mae averted her eyes and nodded, rising from her seat and shuffling towards one of the doors in the short hall off the living room. She returned a short few seconds later clutching a stack of messy papers in her hands.

"When we found out about my powers…." She began, staring blankly down at the paper stack. "Mum was really…caring. But then she started insisting that we would fix this, _she_ would fix this. And then she stayed locked in her room for a week – I wasn't much better though -, and when I came out for breakfast this morning she was gone. Her door was open, but it's never open, so I got curious. These were on her desk."

The papers were handed to the professor, who flipped through them with a worried crease between his brows.

"She's an intelligent woman." Xavier said, handing the papers to Ororo. The weather witch stared at the papers in disbelief.

"I guess." Mae shrugged, fiddling with her fingers.

Silence permeated the air of the apartment, and then the professor spoke up. "Why don't we all go and get something to eat? I haven't been in England for several years, so I'm sure there's some new places that have popped up while I've been away."

"That sounds like an excellent idea." Ororo agreed, smiling at Mae. The British girl nodded, and pulled herself off the couch.

"I know a nice place downtown that just opened up," Mae said, as she reached her door. "It serves all sorts of food from all around the world…if you're interested?"

"That sounds excellent." Charles nodded, sharing a concerned look with Ororo as Mae's door shut.

* * *

Cassarah sighed deeply to herself as she stepped from the elevator onto her floor. Her hair was falling out of its already messy bun, and her makeup had smudged throughout the day. Her heels clacked down the hallway and she rummaged in her bag for her keys.

However, as she reached for the door, laughter echoed from inside and she turned the knob to find the apartment open.

"Hello?" She called, wary that her daughter had emerged from her room and had brought over that…friend of hers.

"Ah, you must Mae's mother!" A polish man called from within the living room. "Please, come sit with us."

Cassarah clutched the strap of her bag as she made her way into her home, staring uncertainly at the wheelchair-bound man in the suit and the boho-dressed African woman, whose hair had been dyed an outrageous shade of white. Why anyone would dye their hair that color, Cassarah didn't know, because she herself dyed over the silver that had started showing through her hair.

"Hello." She said again, glancing towards her daughter, who was dressed in one of her stupid oversized sweaters and a pair of loose jeans. "Who are you?"

"My name is Professor Charles Xavier," He replied, turning to face her. "I run an institute for gifted children, like Mae. We've come to offer an international exchange for the remaining duration of her school years."

"International exchange? Gifted children?" Cassarah's face morphed into something that looked as though it had swallowed a particularly sour lemon. "You don't want her. She's got….a rare form of disease that we're working on getting medication for, and it's far too much hassle to deal with in a international exchange program. Not to mention, international exchanges take money that I don't have at the moment, what with the upcoming bills for her medication and all."

"I'm not sick." Mae protested, bravely speaking up against her mother. "I'm a mutant, and I'm going to go to the Institute."

"Young lady, this is not up for discussion. You are sick, and need to be cured."

"Ma'am," Charles frowned, deeply. "Perhaps you should let me explain. My institute is for gifted children, mutants, to learn how to control their gifts and-"

"Gifts!?" Cassarah scoffed. "A genetic anomaly is not a gift, it's a disease. And diseases can be cured. She's staying right where she is, and I'm going to find out how to fix her!"

"No!" Mae yelled, surprising herself. "I'm not sick, I don't have a disease! There's nothing to fix, except the way you're looking at this."

"Mae…." The elder Gould's tone was full of warning.

"Mother, let me go on this international exchange. Let me learn how to help myself." She pleaded, her big blue eyes watering. "Take some time to think about the fact that I'm still the same person I was a week ago. Just….maybe we need to be apart so that you can learn to deal with this."

The house fell silent, and Cassarah stared at her daughter, who she had tried to raise right, to do what was right, so that she could be her own person. Something inside her protested against all the knowledge in her head screaming that this wasn't right…

Something inside her insisted that Mae, her sweet baby girl, was still the same as she had been when she had first held her, when she had her first birthday, when she had first started school, and when she had let her go to the mall last week. She was still Mae. She would always be Mae.

But the knowledge of years dealing with vaccinations and science and genetic anomalies warred against her heart's truth.

Finally Cassarah turned towards Professor Xavier and nodded.

"She can go. But…I'd like to call her. And her school reports, I still get to see those?"

"Thank you." Mae whispered, sinking into the couch, even as the Professor and her conflicted mother talked arrangements. Ororo placed her hand on the girl's knee and smiled.


End file.
